Charleston’s Wild Dunes loses 18th hole to Atlantic Ocean
Following up on an entry posted back in April regarding the challenges facing seaside golf courses, Wild Dunes, located in Charleston, South Carolina, lost most of the eighteenth hole when it collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in October.
Beach erosion, which had been nibbling at the exposed hole, has taken the green and the final 300 yards that for more than two decades had been one of the most photographed and honored holes in the Carolinas, landing on many “best holes in the United States” lists.
The first part of what was a dogleg has been spared, and Wild Dunes has been able to build a 190-yard, par-3 finishing hole that plays directly toward the ocean. If you didn’t know the original existed, you’d be impressed by the windswept view from the tee.
It’s a dramatic loss to a golf course devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
“The whole shoreline is going through this natural cycle, but nobody has seen anything like this before,” said Jeff Minton, director of golf at Wild Dunes.
The development of any seaside property that removes or alters the sand dunes is likely to increase the rate of erosion, particularly if those dunes are replaced with turf. That doesn’t mean that golf courses can’t and shouldn’t be built within sand dunes or along the seaside. It just means it’s a reality that the owner is going to have to deal with. It appears that Wild Dunes is dealing with it and plans on rebuilding.
There are incomplete plans for a beach renourishment program. The hope, Minton said, is the beach will be rebuilt and, eventually, the hole will be returned to its original design.
“It’s a legendary hole and our goal is to return it as best as possible to what it was,” Minton said.
Tom Fazio, whose reputation as a designer skyrocketed after he unveiled the Links Course, is considering options, including a partial rerouting when planned maintenance is done during 2009.
A good review of the golf course was written by Jay Flemma in April of 2006.
In this video, Jeff Minton discusses the changes that have been made to the 18th hole.
